Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini Fourth High Criminal Court, presided over by Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa with the memberships of judges Osama Al-Shadhili and Wael Ibrahim and Ahmad Al-Sulaiman as secretariat, sentenced on Thursday (April 28, 2016) 3 suspects to life in prison, over acquiring arms and ammunition and 2 other suspects to a 3-year prison term, fining each one of them 500 BD.   

The Public prosecution claimed that in 2014 and 2015: the first suspect acquired and manufactured explosives without a license from the Ministry of Interior, aiming at using them to disrupt public peace for a terrorist purpose and manufactured, without a license from the Ministry of Interior, arms for a terrorist purpose as well.

It was allegedly revealed through "investigations" that the first suspect is one of the Saraya Al-Ashtar leaders and administrator of "Bahraini Resistance" account on social media and that the second suspect is the administrator of "Revenge Demander" and "Labayka Ya Hussein" accounts on social media and that he manufactures explosives. The investigations also led the prosecution to the third suspect.

Based on these investigations, the prosecution issued arrest and search warrants against the suspects. Upon searching their houses, the prosecution discovered the firearms and ammunition as well as the explosive materials used in manufacturing bombs. The suspects confessed that they committed the crime, according to the "investigations".

Human rights organizations challenge the charges raised against the defendants, since they doubt the independence of the judiciary, whose members are assigned by royal decrees, and since it issues sentences based on confessions extracted under duress and evidence presented by secret investigations and anonymous witnesses.

Arabic Version